Peter Mueller passes first test, and other Avalanche Burgundy-White observations

Back home from the Burgundy-White game, where I’ll offer up my two cents’ worth. I’m not going to micro-analyze every shift of the game, as one thing you learn after a while in this business is not to get overly excited about intra-squad scrimmage games. Everything is always positive, everybody says good things about the night and the road ahead – yadda yadda. But they are still interesting to watch in many ways, and tonight was no different.

My thoughts from the 4-3 White victory:
– Peter Mueller looked real good. Not only that, he sounds really good, as this postgame chat with him would suggest. You’ll want to watch this video if you’re a hardcore Avs-Mueller fan:

– I definitely, definitely think this will be a better defensive team this season, if they stay reasonably healthy. The Avs are just bigger on D and you noticed the difference around the front of the net. Of course, we have to see the results against other NHL teams in real games first before we anoint this group as great guardians of the corded igloo, but this just looks like a bigger, better defense.

– While I think he looked decent, I’m not sure Joakim Lindstrom is going to be first-line material at left wing on a line with Paul Stastny and David Jones. I’ll definitely give it more time before passing real judgment, but I get the feeling that it’s a little too much to ask, having him come in and play such an important role.

– Here are Joe Sacco’s thoughts on the night, where he singles out a few players he thought stood out:

– There were two times I went “Whoa” from my precarious press-platform seat tonight: 1, a time when Luke “Sky” Walker blew past everyone down the left wing on one sequence, just kicking it into turbo. He didn’t score on the shot, but that kind of speed stood out even in what was a fast-paced game. 2, Erik Johnson’s game-winning goal, where he burst down the middle and beat Cal Pickard with a shot to to the high left corner.

– Semyon Varlamov looked good. He stoppped 14-of-15 shots, including a couple of point-blank chances. One was on a breakaway by Mueller. He gave up only one goal – a shot through the 5-hole by Brad Malone on a breakaway. Not his fault.

– I thought Kevin Porter looked real good. Nice pass on the Malone goal, a few nice moves, including one time he blew past Kyle Quincey down the right side and nearly scored.

– Gabriel Landeskog didn’t score, but he had at least two very good chances and was around the net a lot. He’s going to be a good player. Not sure how good he’ll be as a rookie, but as time goes on I can see a point-a-game type of guy with great leadership and hustle.

– Overall, I came away with a positive feeling about the team going forward. But we all know the path to NHL prosperity is a treacherous one. This was only one night in September, but for what it was, it wasn’t bad.

The Malone goal was absolutely Varlamov’s fault. He’s the goalie. He’s supposed to stop breakaways like that. That’s his job.

And Dater, you cannot say this will be a better defensive team based on an intra-squad scrimmage where none of the players on the ice are having to give max effort like they might against a real opponent. Many guys were just going through the motions out there.

Am I being hard on the team? Yes, I am. Because I am a pissed off Avs fan who feels that the front office still has not done enough to make this team they kind of team that is going to be competitive enough to make the playoffs. Fine, they might be a bit better than last year. They might make it to 10th or 11th in the conference, but that still doesn’t get the team anywhere. So what if they’ll only lose games 5-3 instead of 6-3. Losses are still losses, no matter the score.

Eric Johnson might get his 20 goals and 70 points, but he will be a consistent nightmare in the defensive zone.
He’s going to be responsible for more goals against than goals for.

As for Mueller, until he plays against opposing players who actually hit him really hard (with the intent to actually hurt him), no one can say he’s going to be just fine. There’s going to be a game where he is skating near the boards or over the blue line, with his head down (as he so often does), and he’s going to get destroyed. After he is picked off the ice on a stretcher and evaluated at an area hospital, then we’ll know how well he takes an NHL hit. My feeling is that he will never play again after he gets railroaded. And he will get railroaded. Other players will target him and take him out on purpose. They know he’s easy prey.

Landeskog looked very, very average. I was against drafting him over Huberdeau and now I really know why.

While the Avs were playing shirts and skins pickup level hockey, everyone else in their division was busy playing real hockey games and getting ready for an NHL season. Calgary/Vancouver had a bunch of fights, slashing, charging, misconducts, etc. Actual battles. Minnesota/Edmonton had much of the same. The Avs were playing a exhibition scrimmage where they may as well have been in a china shop and afraid to break anything. This Burgundy & White game needs to go away and be replaced with a real preseason game against a real opponent.

Stipetic

Yawn.

j.

Wow… That was a lot of effort given to a post that most people will skim through due to the abundance of unfairly-made cynical observations and inability to spell players names correctly… Double yawn…

Greg

Ummm….do your homework. The OP didn’t spell any player names incorrectly. You look like an idiot.

Anonymous

Unless you count Erik Johnson, but hey, one = zero in the world of idiots.

Unless you count Erik Johnson, but hey, one = zero in the world of idiots.

Anonymous

It’s Erik Johnson, so yeah he did.

Cody

wow! you call dater out for making assumptions on the teams future then you go into a rampage of assumptions of your own.

So what exactly do you want the front office to do to make the team better. You are critical yet you don’t offer any solution yourself. You call out Landeskog and say he looked average and they should have drafted Huberdeau yet you didn’t even see Huberdeau play.

And by the way you can relax on the Avs not playing a preseason game last night. Last time i checked they still have about 7 of those to play so you will get to see them play against REEEEALLL competition, and they can have those big battles with all those teams because we know that preseason hockey really brings out the best in every team.

Just saying

Lost so much time of your life typing this, and nobody cares… poor troll.

guest

blah blah complain complain go find another team to rip into

Tashimojo

Yeah right, changing the Avs offseason to include one more preseason game will make the difference between going to the playoffs and not!

It’s actually the defense’s role to prevent breakaways. As I’m sure you know, cause you’re already blaming Johnson for several future goals that haven’t happened yet. But yeah, your post just doesn’t come across pessimistic enough unless you can complain about every position on the roster.
Drafting Huberdeau wouldn’t get us into the playoffs this year either. Huberdeau probably isn’t even going to play in the NHL this year!

ThinkAboutIt

Come’on man, your comments are ridiculous.
– Its one breakaway in a inter squad game, and if you recall he also robbed Duch.
– The avs have added some stout defenders (o’brien, Hedja, Siemens via draft) to go along with guys that are already here (EJ, Wilson and ‘Burner’). Goaltending has vastly improved as well; the front office saw a area of need and addressed it.
– Erik Johnson having 70 pts? really? He is a two way defense-men (maybe 35-55 pts), and if you have watched him last year he was solid on a team that was playing awful. He was -5 with us, meanwhile leading our team in ice time.
-Concerning Mueller, I don’t know if you have played or play hockey but guys don’t hit each other to hurt one another (ignoring the idiots like cooke, among others).
– Landeskog is a natural leader. He can score but is as solid on defense, not many 18 year olds have both assets. To compare the ’11 draft class at this point is absurd, was scheifele a snipe at 7? If your basing your comments on preseason action, he should of been the 1st overall choice.

I think your name says it all ‘BringBackTheOldAvs’, this is a new era man. We have one of the youngest, and fastest teams in the NHL. Add a re-vamped back end and we have potential to be dangerous this year and for years to come.

Anonymous

I hope you’re wrong about Johnson, I banked on a break out year and took him in fantasy…

Puckmeup

Dude, I’ve been dying to see a pro Hockey game for 3 or 4 months now so I watched part of the Van/Cal game and it was so boring that I had to watch re-runs of Pawn Stars! Point is, when it’s this early in the season, no teams are really worth watching other than getting a chance to see how the youngsters fair. That’s it! Because if you’re going to expect it to be fast, exciting and skillful, then you’re barking up the wrong tree! Every Pro Sport is like that in Preseason. You can’t truly gauge how any team is going to fair until the regular season starts with actual STARTERS!!!

I don’t think any of us are expecting the Avs to make it to the Cup and win it all this year, but to say that we won’t be much better than last year is an absolute joke! I assure you and all the other naysayers out there, if the Avs can avoid the injury bug, then all of you better look out, because I’ll be back to rub your noses in it the same way you’re trying to rub all of ours right now. Bank on it brother!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous

You’re not the only pissed off fan on these boards but Jesus. As you stated this is just a scrimmage so you do NOT know how well they will do this year. See? That argument works both ways. They will absolutely be better on defense this year because there is no possible way they can be any worse.

And trust me, I’m as critical as anyone of this front office and if they fail again this year I’m going to expect the Coach and GM to be fired, at least wait til they start playing to see how good/bad they are though.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SCPRBEEZZLEZFDYHS7FOOCN6QU Joe Hill

We look like a bunch of boners for not taking Mark Scheifele or Huberdeau

Avalanchejeff

I was in the Huberdeau camp myself, but to be fair. Have you seen Huberdeau play NHL type players? I have not and cannot compare the NHL type players that Landy is playing against and the Junior players Huberdeau was playing against. I think you are right, but hope your wrong, but we just cant compare the two right now.

Rob1

While no hockey front office would consider this, or at least admit to considering it, flashy players and flashy looks sell in hockey. The Mammoth have used the sex appeal angle before to sell tickets, and eventually the Avs may too if they see a need to increase their ticket sales to single ladies. Huberdeau might have some skills but Landeskog has the look, and that needs to sell tickets until he finds his game. How much attention wasn’t paid to Ovechkin when he first came into the league because he was an ugly Russian (admit it’s true). Sure, more people paid attention to Ovie by mid-season once they noticed his skills, but before that he was the ugly guy under the tinted visor.
There is another point to this that makes Landeskog > Huberdeau: Landeskog is a two-way threat and Huberdeau is not. Landeskog is the next Mikko Koivu or Mike Richards, while Huberdeau looks to be a one-dimensional Jeff Carter at this point. Huberdeau and Carter may win games, but it’s the other type of player that wins cups. Who was more important to the Blackhawks 2010 Cup season: Toews or Kane? Landeskog simply has a wider – not necessarily better – range of skills than Huberdeau does that the Avs found more appealing, and hopefully a wider range of Avs diehards and potential fans will agree.

Cody

Maybe you weren’t paying attention to Ovie but the true hockey fans couldn’t wait for him to arrive. We all remember the Jagar comparisons and we knew he was going to be something special.

Anonymous

I agree with your assessment of Landeskog but the first part of your post is a little mind boggling. Looks don’t sell Hockey, skill and winning does. I’m sure there are some people that watch Hockey or have a favorite team because they find a certain player appealing, but I guarantee you the majority of Hockey fans watch for the Hockey. I also guarantee you the Avs didn’t take Landeskog because he looks good.

Avidlanche

BringBackTheOldAvs, calm down! It is laughable that on the one hand you say that Dater cannot tell we have a better defensive team based on one intra-squad scrimmage, but on the other hand you are able to project a 10th or 11th place finish based on the same intra-squad scrimmage!? How does that work exactly? Not only that but based on this one scrimmage Landeskog is an average player! We should just send you out to all of the intra-squad scrimmages across the NHL and you tell us who is the best team and then they can just hand that team the Stanley Cup and no one would have to play the season!!

Helgothjb

Did you see the same game I saw? To me it looked like Mueller couldn’t care less. He skated hard maybe two times the whole night and hardly ever back checked. He is also one of those guys that skates around with his stick high in the air like he is pitching hay (one of my pet peeves). Put it on the ice, that is usually where the puck is and one can skate much faster if you only have one hand on the stick (for those times you don’t have the puck, which was most of the time he was on the ice).
On another note, McClement looked fantastic. He has speed and was skating all out everytime he was on the ice. He was back checking and in the corners. He is looking like a a guy that has that special something burning down inside.
There were a few flashes of greatness last night, but it mostly looked like a college game.

Michel

I defenatly see Landeskog playing with Stasny and Jones instead of Linstrom.

static19

AD, what’s your thoughts on this? If Lindstrom doesn’t stick at the wing, who do you think they’d try next? Do you see Dutch, Muller, and Hedgy being the top line this year, or do the Avs stick with Stasney, Jones, Lindstrom?

Adrian

Too soon to say, but Landeskog is your obvious lead candidate to replace Lindstrom in a top-6 role.

I really think we shouldn’t fall for the trap with Lando. Send him back to junior, let him develop further before we burn a “cheap” year of his contract. Let him develop for free another year! We made the same mistake with Duchene and O’Reilly, in my opinion. These guys are not too good to go back to junior for an extra year. Let lando set records and have his jersey at the center of the kitchener rafters. Ryan Stoa would have a breakout year in his place if he could stay healthy. Sign another forward from the KHL with the cap space. Don’t let this guy play 3rd line minutes behind Sanny Lindstrom. Look at what an extra year of junior did for Elliot.

Cody

Duchene almost won the rookie of the year and he lead all rookies in scoring you meathead. Why should he be sent back down. Landeskog has the size and strength for the NHL. There is no reason to hold him back in Jrs. I don’t know what you think but it all worked out for Duchene and im sure it will work out for O’rielly and Landeskog. Its a young league and there is nothing wrong with Landeskog in the NHL.

hatetheavs

“Almost” doesn’t mean jack shit.

Anonymous

Stoa would have a break out year if he tried. He had his chances last year to be put on the top 2 lines and he stunk it up. He reminds me of Wolski, a big guy that plays like he’s 5’9, and that might be an insult to the little guys cuz they play harder.

Thriller2099

Develop how? He was a man playing against boys in the OHL. I might agree if he was eligible to go to the AHL but he’s got nothing to learn playing with 16 year olds.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SCPRBEEZZLEZFDYHS7FOOCN6QU Joe Hill

Is anyone else pissed NHL 12 still has Mueller as a RW? Really screws up the roster

Anonymous

I’m really hating nhl 12. Is it just me, or do the Avs seem slower than any other team?

Anonymous

How is Landeskog on that game? In NHL11 he sucks.

Anonymous

They didn’t put him on the Avs roster. Would he be on Kitchener still? I haven’t played as any team in other league except saint john in be a pro mode. I’ll get back to you on that, but maybe not until opening night roster update.

Anonymous

Yeah I don’t know, I’d expect he’ll be on Kitchener if he’s not on the Avs, it seems a little odd EA didn’t put him on the Avs roster considering the draft was months ago. I just know in NHL11 they missed pretty badly on him, he was listed as an undrafted player and I could never get him to develop into much.

Hannah

I stand by my thought from day one when they drafted Landeskog. He needs to be on Stastny’s line. Landeskog and Stazz would be a perfect match. Stewart was always hanging around the net and getting in good scoring positions. We all saw how he and Stastny’s chemistry was one of the scariest things in the league. Now they have a chance to start building that again in a rookie. It could be something special and it could fill the gap that Stewart left.

Cody

I agree, Landeskog will be perfect for that line. Personally i think if the lines are Mueller- Duchene- Hejduk and then Lando-Stas-Jones then the Stastny line is really the second line. Therefore you give Lando plenty of ice time and you get him away from the top defensive pairing every night.

Avs_Fan_Since_98

Wow. Guess it was time for all the Avalanche apologists to crawl out from underneath their rocks and get busy. I swear, every season there are dozens of you that flock to this board to rip on anyone that shows a negative view toward this team. What most of you have failed to realize is that a lot of the people ripping on the Avs are actually longtime fans of the team, but are sick to death of the mediocrity that has been shoved down the fan’s throats by the Avs coaches, players and management. What many of you are, are blind apologists. I’m half convinced that the Avs themselves have planted some of their own paid employees to post on this blog. Yikes.

Thriller2099

You can call me a blind apologist if you want but I tend to have little patience with fence-sitters. We all want the team to win but wafflers and hindsight users offer nothing to talk about and just come across as fair weather fans.

Cody

What are you talking about, its been the positive Avs fans that have been on here all summer. I do not mind being critical of the team right now but for crying out loud THEY ARE REBUILDING! People come on here ripping veterans apart for not playing great in the inter-squad scrimmage. These games are very hard to play for veterans. They know they have a spot on the team is usually very little chemistry on the ice.
If you want to be critical that is fine but have some since. You say you are sick of the teams mediocrity over the last few years well everybody is, THAT IS WHY THEY STARTED A REBUILD!!! From 2005-2009 the team was stuck. They have vets who were past their prime and still getting paid big bucks. This team is doing the exact same thing as the Penguins, Capitals, and Blackhawks did. Just let the rebuild happen. Be patient. If you have solutions or you disagree then voice your opinion, but don’t just go on a rampage spitting things out that don’t make since.

Thriller2099

He/she does have a point though, there are those people that will rip you for bring negative even if you establish a valid reason for it.

Thriller2099

*Being

Cody

Thats fine so make a negative comment. But don’t go on these rampages about the AVs being a second class organization. Its just a ridiculous statement to say when the organization is in the middle of a massive rebuild. Where people saying this about Pittsburgh and Washington 6 years ago. Let them rebuild. Don’t criticize every move they make. There is no possible way you can say every single player they have sign/drafted and or traded for is a bad decision. Thats what some people on here do. Some people believe that Avs shouldn’t have drafted Duchene.

Thriller2099

I know and I agree with you. I’m just saying the homers can be just as bad as the trolls.

Anonymous

Agreed, there are a few on here where if you complain about the Avs getting blown out do to poor effort they’ll tell you you’re not a true fan. I believe these are the people Thriller2099 is talking about.

Steven

Duchene’s SO attempt wasn’t even legal anyway, as he didn’t keep the puck going forward towards the goal line 100% of the time. It would have been blown dead in an NHL shootout.

Doug

I saw that too at last night’s game. Good catch.

Anonymous

Good thing it was just a scrimmage then.

Inigo Montoya

I wouldn’t be surprised if Colorado finishes in the top 6. before injuries hit last year, they were challenging for top spot in the NW at was in fact ahead of Vancouver at one point near Christmas. Now we have an improved defense and goaltending, not to mention a healthy Peter Mueller and a more experienced Matt Duchene. Top six might be a stretch and they would need some luck but the playoffs are a definite possibility.

http://twitter.com/Roloc Roloc

“Hey Peter… What do you think you chances are of making the team?” – Mysterious Reporter

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.